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2016-10-06 17:11:09

AMZN

Amazon.com

$841.66

-2.7 (-0.32%)

, GOOG

Alphabet

$776.86

0.39 (0.05%)

…17:11

10/06/16

10/06

17:11

10/06/16

17:11

Amazon quietly building ad business, WSJ says

Amazon (AMZN) has been quietly expanding its presence in the advertising business, reports the Wall Street Journal. Recently, the company has expanding its ad and consumer data products to a wider range of brands, including companies that advertise on TV and target "top of the funnel" consumers, the report says. "They've been putting all of the pieces together... They just have so much [consumer] intent data, and now video data, that you've got to think they're up to something," ad agency executive Ian Schafer told the publication. "They've been operating for a few years functionally in stealth mode. You have to ask the right people, or pull the right chains to get an understanding of what they're doing," said GroupM's Evan Hanlon. The report argues that Amazon could eventually challenge Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB) in the space. Reference Link

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak raised Amazon.com's price target to $950 from $800 to reflect the continued ramp in Prime subscribers. The analyst said Amazon's Prime subscribers are now at 60M members and he expects Prime subscriber spending to be approximately 4.5X that of non-Prime users. Nowak raised his 2017 CSOI estimate by 4% to $530M to reflect a larger gross profit pool that more than offsets higher streaming content costs and a large expected fulfillment build in 2017. The analyst recommends buying Amazon on any investor sentiment swings due to potential below Street Q1 2017 guidance in January and maintains his Overweight rating.

10/05/16

RHCO

10/05/16NO CHANGETarget $850RHCONeutral

Amazon.com price target raised to $850 from $800 at SunTrust

SunTrust analyst Robert Peck continues to think Amazon will benefit from the Prime flywheel, higher third-party adoption, and secular Web Services growth, but he keeps a Neutral rating on the stock, citing the positive assumptions already "baked into" Street expectations, rising competition, its high capital intensity and tough comps. The analyst raised his price target on Amazon shares to $850 from $800.

10/05/16

MKMP

10/05/16NO CHANGEMKMPBuy

Reported VMware pact with Amazon a positive, says MKM Partners

MKM Partners analyst Kevin Buttigieg noted the Fortune report claiming that VMware (VMW) will soon announce a cloud partnership with Amazon Web Services (AMZN). Such an agreement with Amazon would be positive for VMware, as it will signal their confidence in their ability to sell software for use on-premise and underscore a belief that public cloud is unlikely to assume all workloads. The firm has a Buy rating on VMware shares.

Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan notes that machine learning and artificial intelligence have been use to improve applications and acceleration of infrastructure builds, with "intelligent software" designed to make lives easier and more productive. Further, the analyst sees communications and cloud services continuing to converge, with infrastructure and data as key components to AI. Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) Web Service are well positioned to enable these trends, he contends, adding that he see colocation providers, such as Equinix (EQIX) and Interxion (INXN), and networking companies like Zayo Group (ZAYO) GTT Communications (GTT) as beneficiaries.

GOOGAlphabet

$776.86

0.39 (0.05%)

09/27/16

WEDB

09/27/16DOWNGRADEWEDBUnderperform

Alphabet downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Wedbush

Wedbush analyst James Dix downgraded Alphabet to Underperform and lowered his price target on shares to $700 on concerns the "Four Horsemen of the Search Apocalypse" -- self-identified consumers, consumer control of IP-delivered ads, payments innovation, and attention markets -- might arrive.

09/28/16

MZHO

09/28/16DOWNGRADETarget $15MZHOUnderperform

Mizuho cuts Twitter to Underperform with $15 price target

Mizuho analyst Neil Doshi downgraded Twitter to Underperform from Neutral based on valuation. The shares are up 45% since the company reported Q2 results, primarily driven by potential buyout comments in media reports, Doshi tells investors in a research note. The stock at current levels is overvalued as Twitter's business fundamentals "have deteriorated significantly" over the past 12 months, the analyst contends. Doshi believes many of the M&A scenarios are unlikely to play out. He puts potential acquirers Salesforce (CRM) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) in the "maybe" camp, but he still has some reservations about these deals happening. The analyst believes investors of both companies would view a buyout of Twitter as negative. Doshi keeps a $15 price target for Twitter shares. The stock closed yesterday up 35c to $23.72. Loop Capital this morning also downgraded Twitter to Sell.

09/28/16

09/28/16DOWNGRADE

On The Fly: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Wedbush with analyst James Dix citing concerns that the "Four Horsemen of the Search Apocalypse" -- self-identified consumers, consumer control of IP-delivered ads, payments innovation, and attention markets -- might arrive. 2. AT&T (T) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS with analyst John Hodulik citing expectations for lower earnings growth. 3. Macy's (M) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse with analyst Michael Exstein saying the retailer, after outlining in August its operations and merchandising strategies, is now in an execution phase. 4. Twitter (TWTR) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Mizuho and to Sell from Hold at Loop Capital. 5. Galectin Therapeutics (GALT) downgraded to Sell from Buy at Roth Capital with analyst Sa'ar Yaniv citing the company's announcement that NASH-FX, GR-MD-02's Phase 2a study in NASH fibrosis, failed both primary and secondary endpoints. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Citi analyst Walter Pritchard believes a Salesforce (CRM) acquisition of Twitter (TWTR) is possible financially but that such a deal would put "significant constraints" on the company for the next three-plus years. The analyst sees "very little reason" for Salesforce to own Twitter and feels the acquisition "would pose a difficult decision" for CEO Marc Benioff and the board. Salesforce closed yesterday down 6%, or $4.21, to $68.42. Recode reported last night that the company is likely the only bidder left for Twitter after Disney (DIS) and Alphabet (GOOG) opted not to pursue a deal while Apple (AAPL) is unlikely. Twitter in pre-market trading is down 14% to $21.50. In order for Salesforce to avoid a shareholder vote, it would have to borrow $7.5B to fund the transaction if Twitter were valued at $20B, or $27.50-$28 per share, Pritchard tells investors in a research note. This is a level that likely constrains the company with little additional borrowing capacity for other deals, the analyst contends. He thinks the deal is "nearly impossible to do" for Salesforce should the bidding for Twitter go above $20B or $28 per share. Pritchard has a Buy rating on Salesforce with an $89 price target.

GOOGLAlphabet Class A

$803.08

1.85 (0.23%)

09/30/16

RBCM

09/30/16NO CHANGERBCM

Street underestimating Google growth outlook, says RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney expects Google to end 2016 with "up to 20% growth," versus the Street's outlook of mid teen percentage level growth. Mahaney says that Google's growth should be boosted by "ongoing Search innovations, rising Mobile CPCs, and the growing impact of YouTube, Play & Cloud." He thinks that YouTube's revenue is growing at a 30%-40% clip. Mahaney raised his price target on the stock to $1,025 from $1,000 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noted that after Facebook launched its new Marketplace offering on Monday that some users listed prohibited items, such as guns and drugs, that were not caught as they should have been by the company's filter. However, he views the misstep at launch as a "non-event" and thinks nothing has changed in term of Facebook's ability to build world-class products and go after new markets. Munster keeps an Overweight rating and $185 price target on Facebook shares.

10/03/16

BOFA

10/03/16NO CHANGETarget $150BOFABuy

BofA/Merrill remains positive on Facebook heading into Q3 report

BofA/Merrill remains positive on Facebook heading into the Q3 report based on strong engagement, pricing tailwinds, and advertiser growth. The firm's analyst rate shares a Buy with a $150 price target and sees potential for a Q3 beat.

10/03/16

BARD

10/03/16NO CHANGEBARD

Baird says impact on eBay from Facebook's Marketplace likely limited for now

Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said Facebook's (FB) launch of its long-anticipated peer-to-peer commerce platform, "Marketplace," came "much later" than he anticipated, but he still thinks Facebook is well positioned to compete in consumer shopping. Facebook's latest e-commerce effort will create headlines around competitive pressure, but Sebastian thinks Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) will be "minimally impacted" in the near term given their scale, brand awareness, and much more advanced e-commerce capabilities. eBay may be most exposed, but the analyst also notes that 80% of its listings are new products, which may have limited overlap with Facebook listings.

Roth Capital analyst Darren Aftahi noted that recent bear reports, including one that surfaced yesterday, regarding MeetMe (MEET) contend that the company could be negatively impacted by spillover from Facebook's (FB) admission that it had been overstating time spent by its users watching video on its platform, but he does not expect Facebook's issue to have any impact on MeetMe. He also said that, contrary to bear assertions of bad reviews, MeetMe's app scores well relative to Tinder and Snapchat. The analyst keeps a Buy rating on MeetMe and sees pullbacks following short reports as buying opportunities.